“Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.”

Angela Duckworth’s words have followed me across finish lines.

I’ve heard them over and over in my head—getting pelted by hail and rain in the middle of Wyoming, with 100 miles down and 100 to go in a one-day, 206-mile bike race called LOTOJA. I’ve repeated them during an IRONMAN swim when a calm reservoir turned into an angry ocean, and deep into ultramarathon training when no one’s watching and everything hurts.

It’s easy to be excited at the starting line—when the gear is new, your friends are hyping you up in the comments, and the possibilities feel endless.
But success doesn’t come from that first burst of enthusiasm. It comes from what you do after the excitement fades—when the comments stop, the 4:30 alarm clock is blaring, and every part of you is wondering if this was ever a good idea. That’s when the real work begins.

The same is true for your marketing.

Over the years, I’ve watched dental teams get fired up about new ideas—only to abandon them right before the results would’ve started to show. A few Instagram posts, a couple of Google reviews, a new billboard… then something else catches their attention.

A new shiny penny.

Shiny pennies are everywhere in marketing.

There’s always a new trend, a new platform, a new “one simple trick” that promises to fill your chairs. I literally got this text this morning:

“Hi Kristie, I’ve got space for one more dentist in my FREE 2025 roadmap program this week. If you’d like to fill your calendar with new patients in the next 6–12 months, just reply with ‘APPLY’ and I’ll send you the next steps to secure your spot.”

UGH.

Here’s the truth: the most successful practices I work with rarely chase the shiny stuff. Instead, they focus—week after week—on the three key types of marketing:

Interruption Marketing
Radio, TV, Billboards, Print Media, Sponsored Social Ads
You’re buying attention. Be strategic.

Permission Marketing
PPC, SEO, Email, Texts, Funnels
You’ve earned attention. Keep the conversation going.

Marketing with Meaning
Word of Mouth, Community Involvement, Patient Appreciation, First-Class Cabin Efforts
You’re building trust. And trust compounds over time.

These practices don’t obsess over what the office down the street is doing. They’re not playing short-term comparison games. Just like me in the middle of an endurance event—they aren’t worried about anyone else.
They compete with themselves. And they ask three key questions:

• Are we consistently investing in the right mix of marketing to attract high-value patients who align with our brand?

• Are we improving the patient experience one touchpoint at a time—before, during, and after the visit?

• Are we using marketing to build long-term relationships—not just drive short-term attention?

This is what an endurance mindset looks like.

And just like in endurance sports, it’s not about the cheers and the adrenaline at the beginning.
It’s about showing up during the boring middle. Tracking progress. Making adjustments. And never quitting at mile 18 of a marathon.

So if you’ve ever said, “That didn’t work at all,” ask yourself this:
Did it really not work?
Or did you just not give it long enough to work?

Enthusiasm is easy.
Endurance is everything.